trillion

noun

tril·​lion ˈtri(l)-yən 

1

: a number equal to 1,000 times one billion see Table of Numbers

2

: an indeterminately large number

a trillion mosquitoes out tonight

trillion adjective

trillionth

ˈtri(l)-yən(t)th 

adjective or noun

Examples of trillion in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These changes could raise trillions of dollars over the next decade and lower costs for the rest of us. —Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026

As model sizes have grown from millions to billions to trillions of parameters and context windows have grown from thousands of tokens to tens of millions of tokens, memory requirements have increased in step, and the architecture of data centers has struggled to keep pace. —Sha Rabii, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2026

The product exploded, generating trillions and minting a new class of crypto degenerates who were willing to take massive risks that, occasionally, resulted in millions. —Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 17 Mar. 2026

Calculating hundreds of trillions of digits creates massive temporary files, meaning the speed of the storage system can determine whether the calculation succeeds or slows to a crawl. —Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 15 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, from tri- + -illion (as in million)

First Known Use

1745, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for trillion

• billion
• million
• pillion
• castilian
• civilian
• cotillion
• pavilion
• postilion
• quadrillion
• reptilian
• vermilion
• vermillion

Kids Definition

trillion

noun

tril·​lion ˈtril-yən 

1

: a number equal to 1,000 times one billion see number

2

: a very large number

a trillion mosquitoes out tonight

trillion adjective

trillionth

-yən(t)th 

adjective

trillionth noun